Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Petey smooth, wit a little bite, very aromatic

Adequately describing Ardbeg Corryvreckan is like writing the first draft of a college thesis: it’s complex, multi-layered, disorganized, full of hastily scribbled notes...in other words, a process. To attempt to unravel this mysterious single malt and do it justice, here’s my best attempt: Nose: soft toffee, orange, lemon, brine, smoke and a present but not over bearing peat. Palate: holy cannoli, Batman. This seemingly tame and controlled dram explodes like a mortar shell going off. A heavily oily arsenal of herbs, salt, pepper, orange peel, clove, freshly mowed grass, vanilla, peat, serrano pepper, copper penny and countless other minor notes attach to your tongue like a leech, but if a leech had teeth made of exploding wasps. It’s like nothing you’ve ever had. Finish: it just won’t end! Cigar ash, black olives, peat, black pepper, honeydew melon, and idk like a dozen other things. Despite its riveting back story, there is no poetry here; Corryvreckan is total war. It’s hard to find enough source material in the recesses of my brain to fully explain everything going on in this 57.1% abv monster. Ultimately, as much as I’m the adventurous type, this one is a bit too steep a climb. Mostly I just find the finish a bit off-putting; like an ashtray that someone spilled booze in, to be overly simplistic about it. Having scored this bottle for $70, I know I got a deal, as $85 is about the standard. Even after adding water, this is certainly not an everyday pour. And while there is still so much left to explore here, if you asked me right now, my future money will go towards the cheaper and more enjoyable Ardbeg expressions like the 10 year old or Uigeadail. Tentative 3/5. Update 2/23/18: my palate has adjusted to the intensity and woah...smoked meat city! Bumping to 4/5. Give it time and it delivers at the right levels, peat heads.